La pression: Brest-Rennes: A Brittany Derby

Words: Guirec Munier

Images: Guirec Munier

Brest. The French equivalent of Portsmouth, a port city with a strong identity.

A club with no record at the highest level, Stade Brestois 29 are supported by a loyal public in a stadium from a time that is unfortunately over; the Francis-Le Blé stadium.

Each season, the Breton derby between Brest and Rennes is an opportunity for me to dive back into the 90s.

This time, the match took on an additional flavour. Stade Rennais, my hometown club, was playing for its European future on the final day of the championship.

Arriving very early to the stadium, I was able to rush into the procession of the Brest ultras. Incognito. My Stade Rennais jersey and scarf well camouflaged under my jacket because of the antagonism and the decision of the subprefecture of Brest, which contributes to the maintenance of security and public order, to prohibit the conspicuous wearing of my club’s colours more than an hour before the game.

Chants, flares, smoke bombs, fireworks, drums and local beer, the Brest ultras fully celebrated the end of the season.

At the end of this experience, both visual and acoustic, the bar Le Penalty whose motto is "La pression on ne la subit pas, ici la pression on la boit", which could literally be translated into English as "We don't feel the pressure, here we drink it". In France, a draft beer is called a "pression".

Inside the stadium, I went from Brest smoke to Rennes smoke. The away section being full to the brim, I took a ticket close to it.

Filled with Stade Rennais fans, we cheered the team to a man as they fought for a sixth consecutive European qualification.

Epic.